Impact of Unilateral Amblyopia on Macular and Retinal Nerve Fiber Layer Thickness

Abstract

Objective: To compare “retinal nerve fiber layer” (RNFL) and “macular thickness” in unilateral anisometropic and strabismic amblyopia using “optical coherence tomography” (OCT). Study Design & Setting: Descriptive cross sectional study with purposive sampling technique. Department of Ophthalmology, Mardan Medical Complex, Mardan, July–December 2023. Methodology: A total of 54 patients with anisometropic (n=27) or monocular strabismic (n=27) amblyopia with best corrected visual acuity of 20/40 to 20/400 were included. Patients with refractive errors =5 diopters or axial length differences =1 mm were excluded. OCT was used to measure peripapillary RNFL and macular thickness in amblyopic and fellow eyes. Results: The mean age of the patients was 10 ± 3.1 years 8.9 ± 3.7 years in the anisometropic group and in the strabismic group respevtively. Anisometropic amblyopic eyes had significantly increased macular thickness (224.5 ± 48.7ìm) compared to fellow eyes (207.5 ± 34.2ìm) (P=.002), with no significant RNFL difference (P=.55). Macular and RNFL thickness differences between amblyopic and the other eyes in the strabismic group were not statistically significant (P=.07 and .52). No significant differences were observed between anisometropic and strabismic amblyopic eyes. Conclusion: Anisometropic amblyopia is associated with increased macular thickness, whereas strabismic amblyopia shows no significant change. Amblyopia does not appear to affect peripapillary RNFL thickness in either group.